Category Archives: Potatoes

Some people like to collect stamps, some people like to collect trading cards. Me? I like to collect different types of pantry ingredients. For example, I don’t have just one or two bottles of vinegar in my cupboard, I have well over a dozen different varieties of vinegar. When it comes to throwing together a quick or an exotic meal, I have all my bases covered. My pantry is chock full of wide range of ingredients that would make most discerning home cook squeal with delight. However, I make it a point to avoid purchasing pre-made mixes or boxed dinners. Finding a box of “Hamburger Helper” sitting in my cupboard is as likely as me becoming the next new swimsuit model for Sports Illustrated. Just not happening…

One of the random ingredients sitting on the pantry shelf was a little can of organic sweet potato puree. I have to tell you that when I bought it puree, I had no idea what I was going to do with it. I’ve never used canned sweet potato puree before, so I simply wanted to taste it and see how it compared to sweet potato puree made from scratch.

I was surprised to find that the canned sweet potato puree tasted really good. The sweet potato puree was creamy, sweet and is reminiscent of cooked pumpkin. It also made a decent substitute for canned pumpkin and it saved me about an hours worth of time if I decided to prepare it myself. With all that said, I still stand behind my opinion that fresh ingredients always tastes better than canned. However, there is no shame in using a good quality canned ingredients. I just did, and I was pleased with the results.

My easy to make Sweet Potato Bread is light, moist and has the wonderful flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. It’s great sliced for a quick breakfast on the go or as a snack with a warm cup of tea. Enjoy! Tessa

Bruce and I threw a backyard barbecue with family and friends on Saturday afternoon. While playing ladder golf, darts, laughing, joking and most likely making our neighbors seriously annoyed, I spent a bit of time tending to the barbecue. I barbecued my apricot pork ribs while others pitched in with sides of fresh picked white corn, baked beans, watermelon, cherries, green salad, and cornbread. In addition to the apricot pork ribs, I made a batch of my Bacon Chipotle Potato Salad. My Bacon Chipotle Potato Salad is a tasty twist on the classic American potato salad. My Bacon Chipotle Potato Salad has a wonderful smokey bacon flavor and then kicked up in flavor with fiery chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. It’s not your average potato salad. It’s just simply delicious! Enjoy! Tessa

Ingredients:

5 pounds potatoes (boiled, cooled, peeled and coarsely chopped)

8 slices bacon (cooked and crumbled)

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup minced sweet onion

6 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 Tbs chipotle pepper in adobo (minced)

1 Tbs Dijon mustard

2 tsp smoked salt or to taste

1 tsp black pepper or to taste

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

garnish with fresh snipped chives and pinches of paprika

Add potatoes, bacon, celery and onions to an extra large mixing bowl. Lightly toss. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the apple cider vinegar, mayonnaise, chipotle pepper, Dijon mustard, smoked salt, black pepper and smoked paprika. If you have any bacon grease leftover from the bacon, add about a tablespoon of it to the potatoes. Trust me… It adds a ton of flavor! Add the mayo mixture to potatoes. Lightly mix. Garnish with fresh snipped chives and pinches of paprika. Makes a big bowl or about 12-15 servings. Enjoy!